Rubio on the radio dial

House Speaker Marco Rubio is staying as busy as Gov. Charlie Crist today. Same subject. Different message.

Crist is flying around the state praising the property tax plan. If Rubio's conference call yesterday is any guide, he is calling the proposal disappointing and offering tepid support for its passage. A listing of Rubio's Miami radio and media appearances:

9:15am-9:45am    Interview w/ Bernadette Pardo
12:30pm-12:45pm Interview w/ Ambrosio Hernandez
1:00pm-1:30pm    Interview w/ Raquel Regalado   
5:00pm-5:30pm    Interview w/ Humberto Cortina
7:30pm-8:30pm    Interview w/ Oscar Haza
9:30pm-10:00pm    Interview w/ Marta Flores

Alan Keyes on the FL ballot

He's getting excluded from presidential debates, but FL Republican leaders are putting Alan Keyes on the presidential primary ballot. Maybe it's part of all that African-American outreach? Here's the GOP presidential ballot approved today: Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. Mike Huckabee, Congressman Duncan Hunter, Ambassador Alan Keyes, Sen. John McCain, Congressman Ron Paul, Gov. Mitt Romney, Congressman Tom Tancredo, Sen. Fred Thompson.

“We have an outstanding slate of Republican presidential candidates, and Florida’s Republican voters should be proud that they will choose our nation’s next President from such a diverse field of qualified, principled leaders,” state party chairman Jim Greer said in a statement.  “The historic January 29, 2008 election will be pivotal not only for Florida but for the nation, propelling the winner of the state forward in a way that no other state has the power to do.”

Redistricting Petition Popular

The redistricting petition gathering process has been going well, according to an e-mail Buzz got forwarded from Ellen Freidin, a Miami-based lawyer and activist with Floridians for Fair Elections, who's heading up a ballot initiative to prevent districts from being drawn to favor an "incumbent or political party."

"The great news is that after only three weeks of signature collection, we are about a third of the way towards collecting the signatures needed to trigger court review. Collection is going much faster than expected and barring unforeseen problems, we should be able to complete this phase before the end of the year," Freidin wrote to supporters.

Mother of former Congressman Jim Davis dies

Cody Fowler Davis, mother of former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis and 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, died yesterday. She was 76.

Mrs. Davis raised three children in Tampa, including daughter Kim and son Cody, now a lawyer and author. During the campaign trail Jim Davis fondly recalled how his mother, who sold real estate, drove the boys to tennis tournaments in their Ford Country Squire station wagon.

When his parents divorced in 1972, Jim Davis played more of the role of father, along with his grandfather "Big Cody" Fowler, former president of the American Bar Association and Gov. LeRoy Collins appointee to a state committee on biracial relations.

FEA prepares for property tax battle. Or is it?

The Florida Education Association is mounting a challenge against the property tax plan but is holding off on a formal campaign in hopes of exacting an iron-clad guarantee that schools will be held harmless.

And a mere promise from Gov. Charlie Crist won't cut it. "I need something in my hand, a verbal commitment doesn't get me anything, " FEA President Andy Ford said during a 1 p.m. news conference.

Ford estimated the proposal could cut $1.8-billion to $3-billion over five years. "Let me say clearly, that the current proposal does not hold education harmless and as promised, the FEA cannot support and will not support the current plan in its current form, based upon the information we have today."

Jeb and Charlie support licenses for illegals too

Be careful Republican presidential hopefuls about jumping too hard on Hillary Clinton's nebulous debate answer last night on whether illegal immigrants should be granted drivers licenses. As Politico's Jonathan Martin notes, Jeb Bush supported the same thing in 2004: "“We shouldn't allow them to come into the country to begin with, but once they're here, what do you do?" Bush told the AP at the time.  "Do you basically say that they're lepers to society? That they don't exist? … A policy that ignores them is a policy of denial."

What's more, Charlie Crist last year said he supported drivers licenses for illegals too, "in limited circustances."

Tax plan is open to legal fight

Gov. Charlie Crist greets Christine Moore at her home in south Orlando on Tuesday as he pitches the tax-cut proposal that will be on the Jan. 29 ballot. [AP photo]

The Legislature's tax cut plan would deepen inequalities in Florida's tax system and could lead to a lawsuit by those who own nonhomestead property.

If that suit succeeded, the state might have two choices: give refunds to owners of businesses and second homes, or tell people who benefited under Save Our Homes that they have to pay that money back.

The state's own expert thinks the new plan is ripe for challenge. "I would think that's something a lawyer would find attractive," said Walter Hellerstein. He is an authority on tax law and was hired by the state to study what has become known as "portability," the politically popular plan to let owners of homestead property take their Save Our Homes tax break with them when they move.

Story here.

Hudson wins House 101 GOP primary

Matt Hudson, a Realtor and fire district commissioner, beat three competitors in the GOP primary for House District 101.

He will take on Democrat Linda McDonald on Nov. 20 in a contest to replace Republican Mike Davis of Naples, who died of cancer last month.

Hudson took 37 percent of the vote in a win over former Davis aide Eric Zichella who raised far more money than his opponents and garnered 33 percent. Christopher Spencer fared well, with Gerald Lefebvre barely showing. Voter turnout was 10 percent.

As goes state tax appeal, so goes another

The state today dropped its appeal of a circuit court judge's ruling that the Legislature's "super" homestead exemption proposal was misleading. Now the Weston mayor who hobbled that plan is dropping his own court appeal.

A lawyer for Mayor Eric Hersh told the Buzz that he will withdraw on Wednesday an appeal of the judge's ruling upholding a different part of the state's original tax plan.

The provision stated "by general law, the legislature shall limit the authority of counties, municipalities and special districts to increase ad valorem taxes." Hersh's lawyer, Jamie Cole, argued that local government had a right to set millage rates up to 10. (It's kind of confusing because the Legislature still has the ability to cap property tax revenue, which it has.)

That same language was in the mix of the new tax proposal, drawing the protest of local governments on the grounds that it violated home rule. But it was dropped from consideration in the Senate plan that passed Monday. As a result, Cole said he will withdraw the appeal on Wednesday.

Secret straw poll: Clinton; Edwards stongest in FL

Could John Edwards be the real competition for Hillary Clinton? That's what an unofficial and unauthorized straw poll by taken at the Florida Democratic convention last weekend seems to suggest. Marvin and Shelley Quittner received back 703 ballots(at least 10 more are outstanding), which asked people to pick their top choice as well as their top four choices.

For the top choice question, only three candidates got at least 15% of the vote, the threshold for winning delegates: Hillary Clinton, with 296, Barack Obama with 110, and John Edwards with 108. That was followed by Al Gore with 82; Dennis Kucinich with 45; Bill Richardson with 31; Joe Biden with 20; Mike Gravel with 7 and Chris Dodd with 2. 

Then Quittner, a retired lawyer from Plantation, eliminated Gore and assigned the Gore voters secondary choices to one of the candidates showing 15 percent viability. The result? Clinton 323(46%); Edwards 140 (20%); and Obama (17%). Finally, he assigned the top choices of all the also-rans to Clinton, Edwards and Obama: Clinton 359 (51%); Edwards (25%); Obama (20%).

Rubio: 'We just missed an opportunity'

House Speaker Marco Rubio is holding a conference call with reporters and opened with his disappointment over the Senate tax plan that passed yesterday. "We just missed an opportunity," he said, touting the House plan as more thoughtful and fairer to all property owners.

"Ultimately what we got back was nothing near what we thought was the best," he said. The House had a different approach to the homestead exemption and called for a 5 percent cap on nonhomestead property. The Senate plan doubled the homestead exemption and includes a 10 percent cap.

The stripped-down Senate proposal, released Sunday afternoon, was based in large part on what would pass on Jan. 29. And a Qunnipiac poll last week confirmed the wisdom of including the double homestead exemption and Save Our Homes portability.

But Rubio faulted policy by poll. "I don't think Martin Luther King took polls before he led the civil rights movement," he said. That sounds like an indictment of Sen. Dan Webster and others, but Rubio said that was not the case.

Taxes Down, Insurance Up

As the governor goes around today touting the property tax package the Legislature passed yesterday that promises to save homeowners in property taxes, insurance regulators just broke the bad news that homeowners are going to have to pay up a bit more for the bad hurricane season of 2004-2005, which resulted in Poe insurance companies going belly up.

The Office of Insurance Regulation just announced that they signed off on another one-time insurance assessment of 2 percent on about all liability premium, which was requested by the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association to pay off outstanding debt from Poe's insolvency. The fee impacts just about anyone who has an insurance liability policy, ranging from homeowners and auto to medical malpractice and aircraft, OIR said. Read the letter.

DNC, Dean respond

The Democratic National Committee thinks Sen. Bill Nelson and Rep. Alcee Hastings are all wet.

In a legal response to the Democratic duo's lawsuit over the decision to strip Florida's delegates to the party's national convention, the DNC contends that the case has no merit and, like the Florida Democrats themselves, it should be tossed out on its rear.

Democrats to press: Pay up or stay away

As easy as it is to beat up on New Hampshire for so zealously protecting it's first-in-the-nation primary status, remember that Granite Staters were the only ones who saw the problems that would result from the DNC trying to use to cudgel to dictate its primary calendar. As Florida reporters lately have had to write campaign donation checks to hear Democratic presidential contenders in Florida -  like Bill Richardson in Coral Gables yesterday and Bill Clinton last week - consider the prescience of former Ambassador Terry Shumaker of New Hampshire. As a member of the DNC primary study commission that came up with the primary rules, he voted against them, and in a 2006 column predicted consequences that may have sounded absurd at the time:

"I wonder what the founding fathers, who risked their lives and honor for our freedoms, would think of senators and governors aspiring to be president being disciplined by an unelected committee of Washington insiders for making public appearances or speaking to the press."

State will drop tax appeal

UPDATE (3:25 p.m.): The state has withdrawn the appeal.

Gov. Charlie Crist said this morning that the state will drop its appeal of a court ruling deeming the "super" homestead exemption plan misleading. The ruling triggered the special session that just ended, forcing the Legislature to come up with a new proposal.

The Florida Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the state's appeal in December. If the state prevailed, there could have been two plans on the ballot.

Thompson won't commit to seating FL delegates?

At least that's the implication from his quote today in the Concord Monitor after he filed to run in the Granite state: "Thompson made a "solid commitment" to support New Hampshire's first-place status, but he said he would not interfere with the Republican National Committee, which is poised to strip New Hampshireof half its convention delegates if the state holds it primary before Feb. 5."

Mitt Romney, remember, is already clearly on record promising he'll push to seat all of Florida's Republican delegates to the national convention in St. Paul.

Crist will 'campaign like the dickens'

The morning after the House ratified the Senate's streamlined property tax relief plan, Gov. Charlie Crist kicked into campaign mode to seek voter approval. As he left for a three-TV market fly-around to celebrate the plan's passage, Crist said he looks forward to securing the 60-percent approval needed 13 weeks from today.

"We'll campaign like the dickens," said Crist, who planned to talk with teacher union leader Andy Ford in an effort to head off opposition from one of the state's largest labor groups.

Studying those Buzz comments

Dan Gelber: "I know what's going on often by reading blogs. It's because the cycle is so quick I know that probably half the posts on the blogs are from the Republican majority office. So when they call us names and things like that I love that because embedded in there are arguments that we know they're going to be using...The guys in the Democratic office, you usually can tell their blogs because they're nuanced policy discussions.'

Charlie Justice: "It got to the point (in the campaign last year) where my wife would not let me read the St Pete Times blog because of the stuff that would go back and forth on there..But I had a group of people...who were on there night and day refuting the claims the Republicans were making about me, about my campaign, about every part of my life that I didn't know existed."

Rubio plans to lead citizen petition

House Speaker Marco Rubio, shown during Monday's debate, says the Legislature is probably done with property taxes despite repeated statements from others that more relief and reform is coming.

"Quite frankly, we may have seen the best that this institution -- the House and Senate together -- can do on this," Rubio told reporters after the session ended. "I hope that's not the case. But I really think at this point anything more meaningful than what you've already seen is probably going to have to come from the tax and budget commission or from the citizens of the state."

Is that something you're willing to take up, a signature petition? "Yes."

The 36-year-old, term-limited Rubio said he's not sure what that petition would look like but hinted, once again, at his desire to eliminate property taxes all together.

Sine Die: 7:06 p.m.

From left, Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp, Senate President Ken Pruitt, Gov. Charlie Crist and Sen. Dan Webster. [Times | Scott Keeler]

The end of the special session on property taxes may leave a lasting mark on relations between the House and Senate. That much was evident at a post session news conference the governor held. Crist was surrounded by Republican senators that not one House leader attended -- underscoring the sense that the result was a Senate-only product.

"What happened today was historic and extremely important to our people," Crist said. "So much joy here, because the people have won. They were patient with us, but we brought it home."

Angry, but House takes Senate bill

The Florida House voted 74-41 to concur with the Senate's property tax bill, putting aside major disagreement with the scope of the plan and the way it was presented. The Senate plan includes doubling the homestead exemption, Save Our Homes portability and a 10 percent cap for nonhomestead property assessments.

“Being a revolutionary is great but sometimes we have to live in reality," said Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. "And today we have to live in realtity."

But many were not willing to accept what they considered a lesser plan. "This isn't good enough. This is a bad choice for Floridians," said Rep. Dan Gelber, the Democratic leader.

The House still has to approve the plan and put it on the Jan. 29 ballot. UPDATE: The bill passed 97-18 and putting it on the ballot was an overwhelming 112-3. 

With a base like this...

We thought this piece on the war between Congressional Democrats and their anti-war base was especially timely after chatting the other day with liberal blogger Matt Stoller, the president of BlogPac who gave his glowing take of the convention here. The 29-year-old former Miami resident's not a big fan of some Florida Democrats:

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: "She gave $1,000 to Dan Lipinski...He's an extraordinarily conservative Democrat, a Rush Limbaugh listener in a plus-10 Democratic district. I don't know if she's progressive or not, but I have my doubts where her loyalty lies. I don't believe these people any more." She seems to have charmed him into softening his skepticism, based on his post on the event linked above.

Allen Boyd: "He's awful. There's no question he's a terrible congressman. He's a terrible person...Lots of people are dead because of the moral cowardice of these people." A few minutes later Buzz asked Steny Hoyer about the influence of MoveOn and the liberal netroots on the party and, while he repeated his condemnation of MoveOn for its Gen. Betray Us ad, he spoke of how much the party appreciates such activists. The feeling wasn't exactly mutual from Stoller:

House revolt on Senate plan

The House is preparing for a monumental vote: To concur with the Senate or reject the plan and embrace its own. It's anyone's guess how the vote may go, but the presence of Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp and a scattering of senators suggests a dramatic conclusion. But more to the point are representatives themselves:

"There's too many people in my district that are hurting too hard and this bill doesn't help them," said Rep. J.C. Planas, R-Miami. "I say we fight and vote not to concur on this."

Rep. Ron Saunders, D-Key West, blasted the Senate for offering a last-minute plan. "We're being forced with a choice here: take it or leave it." He said the Senate's dropping of a benefit for first-time home buyers may put Save Our Homes in legal jeopardy. "This is a potential poison pill."

"This chamber did it right. We had the right plan," said Rep. Rene Garcia, R-Miami. "Right now I will vote not to concur and I ask you to voe against the plan as well."

"Voting blindly is not in my nature," said Rep. Joyce Cusack, D-DeLand. "I can safely say that Floridians will not be happy on Jan. 29 with this legislation because we have failed them."

Rep. Julio Robaina R-Miami: "This is take the pill whether you like it or not, and that's unfair. ... To come back at the last minute with this nonsense is a slap in my face, it's insulting to the body and it should be insulting to everybody in the state of Florida."

The backroom talk, Let's vote this down

House Speaker Marco Rubio dropped by the members' lounge during lunch and visited some Democrats. Among the chatter: The possibility of a voice vote against the Senate plan.

"We're trying to understand the implications of that," said Rep. Janet Long, D-Seminole, declining to elaborate on her conversation with Rubio.

Rubio has fresh backing from the National Federation of Independent Businesses. In a letter sent after the Senate vote, the group urged Rubio to reject the Senate's proposed 10 percent cap on nonhomestead property and stick with the 5 percent in the House bill.

UPDATE (1:35 p.m.): The House has returned to session. "We have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to get it done," Rubio said. Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, scoffed at the Senate's move to disband after voting out its plan. "We are at the mercy of them throwing something at us whether we like it or not," he said. "There has to be debate, there has to be discussion."

"It's their duty to be here," said Rep. Dick Kravitz, R-Jacksonville, drawing applause from members in both parties. "Where are they?"

Pruitt: You can go home

The Senate is officially in recess and Sen. Jim King encouraged senators to stay and wait for the House. But Sen. Ken Pruitt told senators, "our work is done here" and wished them safe journeys home.

Senate sends amendment to House

Sen. Dan Webster (facing camera) hugs Senate President Ken Pruitt as Democratic Sen. Steve Geller looks on. Times | Scott Keeler

The Senate met for three hours and passed a scaled down plan that they had only released details on the night before. Their plan includes a measure to allow homesteaded homeowners to take their savings from the Save Our Homes cap with them when they move, but it doesn’t hold schools harmless.

After the 35-4 vote, Senate President Ken Pruitt told senators “our work is done” allowing them to return home, sending a strong signal to the House that the Senate would not be around to compromise or accept any changes from the House.

Early in the morning several Senate Democrats said they were worried about cuts to education which total around $2 billion over four to five years. But at the time of the vote, most senators said that they thought their tax package was good enough.

“Our cuts to education are much smaller. I think this bill will pay for itself and will be good for the people of florida,” said Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Green Acres. “I do still have concerns, but I’m not going to allow the perfect to be the enemy of good. Ultimately it’s going to up to our districts.I think this is good enough.”

An unhappy House

The House met briefly earlier only to recess because the Senate is still debating. But it was long enough to illustrate widespread unease with the plan the House will have to vote on later today.

"There are a lot of you that expressed tremendous disappointment and people say, ‘Well aren’t you disappointed?' House Speaker Marco Rubio told the chamber. "Yeah, but I’m a Dolphin fan so disappointment is easy for me. ... It’s a difficult decision to make today. It’s a difficult decision for all of us. There are no easy choices and every option before us has consequences that are less than ideal."

Storms Feels Battered; Geller Marrying Webster?

Sen. Ronda Storms, who tried and then withdrew an attempt to lower the Senate's 10 percent cap on assessed value increases on non-homesteaded properties, said: "How do I feel battered, let me count the ways."

"I think some of us, or really just this freshman senator feels battered, because things that we tried to fight for, aren’t there," Storms said. But after pointing out things missing, like relief for low-income seniors, she added: "I'm glad we finally got something, and we're here."

Sen. Steve Geller joked that he and Sen. Dan Webster's wives are on the verge of divorcing them for  neglect (over the time they've spent working on property taxes), which means that he and Senator Webster may have to get married.

"I'm erasing you from my speed dial," Geller said to Webster.

'A very hard vote' for House Democrats

[Times | Scott Keeler]

Unions and businesses both lodged serious objections to the Senate's take-it-or-leave-it property tax plan in a House Democratic caucus on Monday morning. And that may be sufficient political cover for Democrats to deny the Republican majority the three-fourths vote it needs to put the new version on the Jan. 29 ballot. 

Teacher union lobbyist Jeff Wright debunked the Senate's contention that portability under Save Our Homes will kick-start the economy and make up for a $2-billion-plus education cut over five years. Said Wright: "I can't go sell that to my leadership. I'm not going to try." Mike Williams of the building trades union warned that property tax cuts would mean the loss of public-sector jobs.

David Daniel of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, after making a pitch for the need for property tax relief, told Democrats the Senate's 10-percent cap on non-homestead assessments was too high and responded with silence when a Democratic lawmaker asked him how members should vote.

Plan To Pass Senate

The Senate passed 4D overwhelmingly, 39-0. This is the implementing bill that describes in detail the specifics on the joint resolution.

Their tax plan pits two very important issues to Democrats against each other: school funding versus jump-starting the economy.

Red Sox Nation includes Tallahassee

The Boston Red Sox have just won the World Series and no doubt they are thanking state Rep. Dick Kravitz for sprinkling a little good luck at Fenway during a tour for lawmakers this summer.

Kravitz, you may recall, hopped a short wall in left field to get a look at the famed Green Monster. A security guard scolded Kravitz and pal Rep. David Rivera but not before they got some choice photos.

The only thing sweeter for a Sox fan like Kravitz would be winning at home, not Coors Field in Denver.

Is Rubio ready to accept Senate plan?

House Speaker Marco Rubio sent this memo late tonight to fellow state reps:

"As many of your are aware, Senate President Pruitt sent out the attached strike-all amendments today which represent the property tax package that the Senate will take up and vote out tomorrow. While we still do not know what legislation will ultimately pass in the Senate once the amendatory process is complete, we are encouraged that the proposed package includes a cap for non-homestead properties.

I am sending you these attachments to keep you informed of ongoing developments. Our plan is still to go in at 11:00 AM tomorrow. Once we have reconvened, we will plan to go into informal recess if we have not yet received the Senate messages."

Webster explains property tax moves

Sen. Daniel Webster, the man who put the Senate's latest tax proposal together, says it was all about securing enough votes to pass his chamber and (assuming the House goes along) enough votes on Jan. 29. "We've done the best we can," he told the Buzz Sunday night after arriving in Tallahassee.

Which explains the stripped-down proposal and the decision to include an assessment cap for nonhomestead property -- something the Senate had initially rejected. “There’s a House, a Senate and the public,” Webster said. “In the end, you have to please them all.”

Webster disputes that a 10 percent cap, which does not apply to schools, is watered down to the point of having little effect. "Going from 5 to 10 percent is not lowering by half by any means. It just makes the cap a little more sellable."

Dropping a break for first-time home buyers was a political calculation, Webster said. A Quinnipiac poll last week showed voters were not keen on the idea. Cutting the portability limit to $500,000 (the House has $1-million) was also a way to avoid turning off voters who see the higher amount as an unnecessary break for the wealthy, though Webster said he doesn't view it that way himself.

"By making it simple," Webster said, "it has a much easier shot at passing."

On taxes, 'Place your bets'

A Buzz reader poses the question of the day:

"So, place your bets . . what is going to happen tomorrow?"

Senate releases tax plan with 10 percent cap

The Senate has just released a stripped-down plan that bends to the House's desire for an assessment cap on nonhomestead property but at double the rate. The plan, now at $12.4-billion over five years, includes:

-- Save Our Homes portability, up to $500,000.
-- Doubling the $25,000 homestead exemption. Schools are exempt so the break is more like $15,000, according to some estimates.
-- Tangible personal property break at $25,000.
-- 10 assessment percent cap for nonhomestead property, with school taxes exempt.

"Senators, thank you for the incredible patience and determination that you have demonstrated," Senate President Ken Pruitt wrote. "I firmly believe that we have a proposed constitutional amendment that provides tax relief and reform; that minimizes the negative impact on education funding; and that will be understandable and acceptable to voters this January."

Left out this time were additional breaks for low-income seniors and waterfront commercial property and first-time home buyers.

Said Sen. Steve Geller, "What the governor kept saying was very helpful: 'Keep it simple.' We have put together a moderate, responsible plan."

Here is the fiscal analysis. Here are the bills: SB 4 D and SJR 2 D.

Democrats Set Jan. 29th Ballot, No Gore

After Karen Thurman read off the list of names of presidential candidates that the party would like to be placed on the ballot, someone yelled: "Who are these people?"

And then lots of Democrats started yelling, "Al Gore" over and over again. But the ballot was approved and Gore didn't get on. The ballot includes Joe Biden, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Christopher Dodd, John Edwards, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama and Bill Richardson.

Meanwhile, Adam Smith ponders whether Hillary Clinton is the strongest Democrat for the general election or the weakest. See here.

Karen Thurman Keeps Her Job

A move to oust Karen Thurman from her job as chair of the Florida Democratic Party failed Sunday at a meeting of the Democratic Executive Committee.

Committeeman George Maurer of Monroe County made a motion to remove her "for cause including but not limited to malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence."  But as the crowd seemed overwhelmingly hostile to the suggestion, Maurer withdrew his motion.

Rick Minor, chair of the Leon County Democratic Party, gave a speech accusing Maurer of "exercising very poor judgment," and making a "grab for headlines and for stealing away good will (from this convention) that should be printed in tomorrow's stories."

So Maurer agreed to withdraw his motion and most Democrats in a room gave Thurman a standing ovation.

Tax cuts shrink in House

As we wait for the Senate to release details of its property tax cut plan this afternoon, the House has issued revised figures for its own plan. The bottom line has shrunk to $9.84-billion over four years, down from $11.1-billion

"The initial estimate double-counted some of the impacts attributable to the 40% minimum Save Our Homes exemption and portability resulting in slightly overstated impacts to local governments," Rep. Dean Cannon wrote in a letter to members. "The initial estimate also slightly underestimated the potential impacts of the 5% cap on non-homestead assessments."

The Senate plan is expected by 3 or 4 p.m.

Trouble in Paradise

Buzz hears that John Russell of Dade City, a Democrat who lost to Congresswoman Ginny Brown Waite last year, was causing a bit of a raucous at the state convention and was escorted off the Disney property. If you've got 30 minutes or so, the video is here.

Mark Bubriski, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party, said that Russell had tried to take over another vendor's table, which that vendor had paid for. The vendor had approached Party staff to ask them to help her out. Russell wasn't sent as a delegate to the convention, Bubriski said.  "Our staff told him you can't do that, and he then became belligerent," Bubriski said.

Later, Disney staff became involved and banned Russell for life from all Disney properties, Bubriski confirmed.